Boys Basketball: WC East holds off WC Henderson rally
WEST GOSHEN >> Thursday night at Jack Byrne Gymnasium the host West Chester East Vikings boys’ basketball put on a first half clinic and then withstood a furious West Chester Henderson third period rally to down the Warriors 46-40 in a key Ches-Mont National Division game.
Jack Kushner led the Vikings with 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and was the man the Vikings were looking for in crunch time.
“We started out real fast tonight and got a good lead at halftime,” Kushner said. “And then we talked about them making a run in the locker room at halftime but we came out a little flat and turned the ball over a few times. But I like to attack the basket in big situations and go to the basket or pass it out to Ryan Price to knock down a 3-pointer, and that is what happened tonight.”
West Chester East (5-2 Ches-Mont, 10-3 overall) jumped out to a 26-13 lead at halftime as the Vikings shot a torrid 11 for 23 from the field in the first half and more than held their own on the boards with the taller Henderson (3-4, 9-7) front line.
Kushner was scoring on dribble penetration and Price knocked down one of his two 3-balls in the first half. Meanwhile, the Warriors were shooting just six for 24 from the field in the first half with only sophomore Nyle Ralph-Beyer doing damage. Ralph-Beyer, totaled 15 points with fellow sophomore Nelson Lamizana leading the Warriors with 16 points.
But the Warriors came out strong in the third period, forcing six West Chester East turnovers in the period after the Vikings had just one turnover in the first half. Henderson started getting some inside baskets from Lamizana and started to control the boards. Ryan Bell and Lamizana hit back to back 3-pointers late in the third period to make it a 31-28 West Chester East lead.
After a timeout, the Vikings threw up a shot that missed from the corner and Stanley Porter put in the follow at the buzzer, and the Vikings took a shaky 33-28 lead over the Warriors into the final frame. The Warriors outscored the Vikings 16-7 in the third period to trim the Vikings lead to just four points.
“We have not gotten off to good starts in some games,” West Chester East point guard Jose Ramos said. “But tonight they could not stop us early and every team makes a run at some point in the game but we held tough and came alive in the fourth period to get the win. When we play with as much energy as we did in the first half we are tough to stop.”
West Chester East seemed to rally themselves in the fourth period and with the score 39-36 in favor of the Vikings with 2:34 to play in the fourth period, the Vikings sealed the game with a 9-0 run that put the Warriors out of the game.
West Chester Henderson came down the floor and missed an open jumper and Kushner scored on a driving layup to make it a 41-36 Vikings lead. Another Henderson miss led to Kushner hitting one of two free throws for a 42-36 lead with 1:45 to play in the final period.
Another Warriors miss, this one from in tight, led to a Kushner drive and dish to Price in the left corner. Price came up with the dagger 3-ball for a 45-36 West Chester East lead, and the Warriors valiant comeback was for naught and the Vikings came away with a very important Ches-Mont National win.
“We played very well in the first half and then our offense went flat in the third period,” West Chester East coach Tom Durant said. “But give Henderson a ton of credit. Those two sophomores, Lamizana and (Ralph-Beyer) are going to be a handful for the league the next two and half years.
“And Jack Kushner is just a beast. He loves to compete and he did that again tonight for us.”
WC East 46, WC Henderson 40
WC HENDERSON (40) Ralph-Beyer 5 4-4 15, Sirchio 0 0-0 0, Lamizana 6 3-3 16, Bell 2 0-1 5, Smink 1 0-0 2, Jarden 1 0-0 2, Grim 0 0-0 0, Surowiec 0 0-0 0, McFadden 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 7-8 40.
WC EAST (46) Sherlock 2 2-2 7, Cox 1 1-4 3, Ramos 2 2-2 7, Kushner 7 1-5 15, Price 4 0-0 3 10, Porter 2 0-0 4, Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18 6-16 46.
WC Henderson 2 11 16 11 — 40
WC East 12 14 7 13 – 46
3-point goals: Ralph-Beyer, Lamizana, Bell, Sherlock, Ramos, Price 2.
